Starring Dylan Authors, Julia Sarah Stone, Molly Parker, Allan Hawco
Films We Like is pleased to announce that two of Canada’s most original and prolific talents - award winning Daniel MacIvor and Bruce McDonald - reunite as screenwriter and director of Weirdos, a World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival as a Special Presentation.
Known to TIFF audiences for his irreverent, eclectic style, McDonald brings a rebel heart to the story of 15 year-old Kit, a young man determined to seek change by running away from home.
It’s the summer of 1976 and Kit (Dylan Authors), bored and restless, is dreaming of a more exciting life in the big city, away from the small town where he lives with his Dad (Allan Hawco) and grandmother (Cathy Jones). Enlisting the help of his girlfriend Alice (Julia Sara Stone), they hitchhike towards a new home with his glamorous, artistic mother Laura (Molly Parker). As Kit and Alice reach their final destination their relationship is tested and Kit faces a difficult realization that will change his life forever.
Says McDonald, “Weirdos is a movie about a couple of Weirdos made by some Weirdos for the world’s beautiful Weirdos. It’s a summertime tricky teen romance with America celebrating on the TV and Canada grooving on the radio.”
Adds producer Mike MacMillan, “Soundtrack is everything for this movie. It’s 1976, distilled and perfectly encapsulated. The music brings this world to life and we’re extremely excited to transport audiences back to the seventies.”
MacIvor, a multiple award winning playwright as well as actor, writer and director has loosely based Weirdos on his experiences as a young man growing up in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The dramatic coastline and highland landscape informs Weirdos as Kit and Alice make the life changing trip from small town Antigonish to Sydney. “The film is like a love letter to the East Coast of Canada,” says Halifax based producer Marc Almon. “The cinematography is gorgeous.”
Weirdos reunites MacIvor and McDonald after their first collaboration as screenwriter and director on Trigger. MacIvor also acted in the TV series Twitch City, which was co-produced and directed by McDonald. Known for spotting promising young talent, McDonald cast Dylan Authors ( in the role of Kit after working with him in his 2013 feature The Husband. Alice is played by Julia Sarah Stone (Wet Bum), a 2014 TIFF Rising Star.
BRUCE MCDONALD, Director
Bruce McDonald is an award-winning Canadian director known for his irreverent, eclectic style and his love of music and pop culture. After breaking out with his debut feature Roadkill, he has
gone on to direct numerous other acclaimed films including Hard Core Logo, The Tracey Fragments and Pontypool, as well as a handful of documentaries and more TV then you can shake a stick at.
DANIEL MACIVOR, Screenwriter
Daniel is originally from Cape Breton and currently lives in Toronto and Avondale, Nova Scotia. He is the writer/director of Past Perfect and Wilby Wonderful, both of which had their premiere at TIFF and played festivals around the world Wilby Wonderful winning the audience award at the San Sebastian Film Festival. He is the writer of Whole New Thing directed by Amnon Buchbinder, Marion Bridge directed by Wiebke Von Carolsfeld and Trigger directed by Bruce McDonald. Daniel received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for his collection of plays I Still Love You and in 2008 he was awarded the Siminovitch Prize for Theatre.
MARC ALMON, Producer, Holdfast Pictures
Named one of the Next Gen: Twenty Young Stars on the Rise in Canada by the Hollywood Reporter, Marc Almon is a Halifax-based producer. His credits include BLACKBIRD, which won Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival and the 2013 Grand Prix at Cannes Junior, among many other distinctions.
MIKE MACMILLAN, Producer, Lithium Studios Productions
A graduate of the University of Toronto (‘02) and UCLA’s Professional Producing Program (‘11), Mike MacMillan – founder of award-winning Lithium Studios Productions - has been producing independent film since 2010. His feature films have played at TIFF, Slamdance, and many other top international festivals. The company will release 3 features this year, including Vladimir de Fontenay’s Mobile Homes and Pat Mill’s Don’t Talk to Irene.
FILMS WE LIKE
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (Grass, Comic Book Confidential, Altman) Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent and international films in Canada. Recent releases include Force Majeure, Finding Vivian Maier, and the Academy Award-winner Ida.
Running time: 90 minutes
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Media Contact for Films We Like:
Virginia Kelly, Meghan Parnell
V Kelly & Associates